Romania

What do you think of when you think of Romania? This is one of those countries that few people know about which in turn leads to some negative impressions of the place.

As a sizeable country with a large population, you would think that more would be known about it. You’d think that more people would travel there, talk about it, sell the place but this does not happen that often.

Instead, people think of beggars that flood streets in Western Europe or of the violent revolution in 1989. Important points, both, but neither can be representative of a people.

Romania can be the kind of all-round great destination for all your needs. It has various mountain regions, swaths of countryside and coastal regions after all. Tourists tend to flock to better known places, but I predict that Romania will give them a run for the money over the next 2 decades.

In the meantime, there are two things that a curious traveller needs to know of:

Bucharest, as the capital, is the prime city to visit.

Transylvania, as the source of Dracula and the vampire legends, is the kind of region that merits a second look.